Editor’s Note: Primary , the epochal vérité masterpiece from four of Drew Associates, captured the behind-the-scenes drama of candidate/US Senator John F. Kennedy as he campaigned across Wisconsin in the early days of his journey to the White House. Enabled by the dynamics of synch-sound and the portability of the cameras that Drew Associates had developed, Primary achieved an unprecedented fluidity and intimacy that transformed documentary-making. Nonetheless, the major US networks passed on airing the film, while Time-Life Television aired it on select independent television stations across
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Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. Opening the new season of POV tonight is Julia Meltzer's Dalya's Other Country, the nuanced story of members of a family displaced by the Syrian conflict who are remaking themselves after the parents separate. It follows its title character, a Syrian teenager, over the course of four years. Premiering Tuesday, June 27 on America Reframed is Vegas Baby, Amanda Micheli's film about aspiring parents who enter a contest to win a free round of in-vitro fertilization. The Hollywood
Sporting the new name SFFILM, the San Francisco International Film Festival celebrated its 60th birthday from April 5 to 19 at its usual haunts at the Castro Theatre, Alamo Drafthouse New Mission, Roxie and Victoria Theatres in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive at UC Berkeley. Three new venues - SF Museum of Modern Art, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Dolby Cinema - established a beachhead in the South of Market district. SFFILM's strong documentary section screened 35 features and some shorts, many of local Bay Area interest. Thomas Riedelsheimer's Leaning into the Wind -
Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! At I ndiewire, Anne Thompson details the "fiasco" behind the new Buena Vista Social Club sequel. Back in January, Lucy Walker was on the verge of debuting her fifth feature at Sundance — the high-profile sequel to Wim Wenders’ 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary, The Buena Vista Social Club. It was the best-possible
Two filmmakers from Mumbai are facing difficulties in screening their film An Insignificant Man in India despite the many international screenings that took place over the past months. The Indian censor board requires the filmmakers to get a no-objection-certificate from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Directors Khusboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla have launched a social media campaign to raise awareness for the unacceptable censorship policies in India. The Hindi-English documentary An Insignificant Man - which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year - chronicles the anti
Sydneysiders, as they're called, are acutely aware of both being the center of a world (their own) and at the edge of others (the world offshore). The Sydney Film Festival, now in its 64th year and still enjoying the prestige that critic David Stratton built up over his decades of stewardship, meets Sydneysiders where they are: It offers a cosmopolitan survey of exciting films worldwide and also a focus on the latest Australian work. "We're proud that an Australian documentary opened the film festival this year," says documentary curator Jenny Neighbour. We Don't Need a Map, by noted
IDA announces eight feature-length documentary films selected to receive a total of $130,000 from the IDA Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund. These grants were awarded in 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.
What is the typical process you will go through when working with a sound house or individual? Is there a typical process? Everyone works a little differently, but there are many common steps that you will encounter when you engage someone to do your sound. Here are some words of wisdom and advice from my 20+ years of designing and mixing documentary films. Finding Your Sound House Today, a film's soundtrack can be prepped and mixed in all sorts of different-sized facilities. Dare I say that you could have one person do your whole sound job when I’m the owner of a modest facility with small
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. Coming to Netflix this Friday, Brian Knappenberger's Nobody Speak, which examines the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Media case as a deeper exploration into the precarious state of free press, free speech and freedom of expression in the Trump era. Sara’s Taksler's Tickling Giants tells the story of how Dr. Bassem Youssef, the "Egyptian Jon Stewart," makes the transformation from heart surgeon to late-night comedian to exlore and support creative ways to protect free speech and fight
Essential Doc Reads is a weekly feature in which the IDA staff recommends recent pieces about the documentary form and its processes. Here we feature think pieces and important news items from around the Internet, and articles from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! At Filmmaker, director Andrew Cohn ( Night School) explains his commitment to making films in the Midwest. Similar to politicians, too often the people and places in the Midwest seem to be exploited by filmmakers as political vessels (I'm looking at you, Michael Moore!). While I mostly agree with the message of